Chapter Five: A Wooden Stake

"I didn't think you'd dare deceive me." Tong Yu nodded slightly.

Mu Si quickly said, "Although we discovered this massive yuan stone vein, it lies within the Ji clan's territory. The small Ji clan is nothing to fear; our Yanshan branch could easily annihilate them. However..." Mu Si recounted the whole story.

Tong Yu frowned as he listened. "A maze formation?"

"Yes. The Ji clan's chieftain, Ji Jiuhuo, is highly skilled in formations and poisons," Mu Si hurriedly said. "This time we've invited many fellow disciples to deal with the Ji clan. The clan itself is not a threat, but the formation..."

"They've set up a grand formation," Tong Yu said, frowning. "We're not good at formations, so we could easily be delayed. If we're delayed too long, the Great Xia Dynasty's envoy might arrive! Among the nearby areas around Yanshan, there's a formation expert close by—Junior Apprentice Brother Nong Zidao. If we invite him, formations set up by a small tribe like this will be easily dealt with!"

Mu Si nodded repeatedly. "Senior Apprentice Brother Nong Zidao is also on our invitation list. Now that you've spoken, I believe he will come."

"Go quickly and invite Junior Apprentice Brother Zidao," Tong Yu ordered. "I'll head to Yanshan now."

"Thank you, Senior Apprentice Brother." Mu Si was overjoyed.

"Mm, go." Tong Yu commanded.

Mu Si immediately produced a leaf-shaped flying treasure under his feet, then streaked across the sky as a flash of light, quickly disappearing into the distant horizon.

Tong Yu watched from afar, pondering for a long time.

"Earth Dragon." Tong Yu turned and shouted.

"Master." A scaled, single-horned earth dragon crawled out. It had four claws and was majestic and powerful. Its body rapidly shrank to about ten zhang in length.

"Come, accompany me to Yanshan," Tong Yu said softly. "If we render great service this time, perhaps I can use this opportunity to request the sect's help in breaking through."

Tong Yu was originally a rogue cultivator. He had reached the Zifu stage in Qi Refining early on, but the shallow technique he cultivated made it nearly impossible to break through to the Wanxiang stage in Qi Refining. Later, his slow-cultivating Divine Demon Body Refining reached the Zifu level. Reaching Zifu through Divine Demon Body Refining was considered a talent, so he was accepted into the Snow Dragon Mountain Sect!

Unfortunately, his Qi Refining had already reached the late Zifu stage, and there was no turning back. Switching techniques was too late.

Fortunately, the fierce and decisive temperament honed during his long years as a rogue cultivator, along with his great contributions, earned him the sect's cultivation. He was taught the divine ability 'Heavenly Body Expansion,' which sharply elevated his status.

Now...

He had been in seclusion here for a long time, hoping to break through his Divine Demon Body Refining to the Wanxiang level. But crossing each major realm was extremely difficult. The sect did have methods to increase the chances of a breakthrough, but the cost was too great—how could they be willing to help him?

"Master will surely succeed." The earth dragon crawled over.

Tong Yu sat directly on the earth dragon's back.

Whoosh!

The earth dragon conjured clouds beneath its feet and flew into the distant sky, disappearing into the night. Dragons have an innate ability to control water; even at the Zifu level, they could fly by riding clouds.

...

In the ancient water mansion.

Ji Ning and the black ox walked side by side out of the Star Hall.

"Inside the Star Hall, comprehending the Dao is indeed much faster," Ji Ning praised.

"The Star Hall has a boosting effect," the black ox said. "But the foundation is still your daily accumulation. Only through many experiences and insights, countless fragmented realizations... you might not notice them much, but when you comprehend the Dao in the Star Hall, you'll make great progress. Without daily accumulation, staying in the Star Hall every day would be useless."

Ji Ning nodded.

Reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles—experience and insight are the foundation.

"We've reached the War God Hall." The black ox stood before the War God Hall. On its bronze doors were carvings of battle axes and spears, exuding a fierce killing aura. The entire bronze door was covered in a faint red glow, filled with bloodthirsty energy.

Ji Ning held his breath.

"Senior," Ji Ning quickly asked, "What did the Immortal Ju Hua experience when he challenged the first floor of the War God Hall back then?"

"Asking is useless," the black ox shook his head. "The dangers on each floor of the War God Hall are set temporarily and can be changed at any time. I learned this from chatting with the spirit of the mansion."

"Oh." Ji Ning was helpless.

The black ox quickly added, "Be careful. Although the trials of the War God Hall are essentially meant to temper you and don't intend to kill you, and since you practice Divine Demon Body Refining, the chance of dying in the War God Hall is low, trials always carry danger. Don't lose your life."

"Don't worry." Ji Ning then reached out to push open the bronze door.

The moment his hand touched the bronze door,

Whoosh!

The faint red glow on the surface of the bronze door instantly swallowed Ji Ning. He vanished from before the door. In that instant, his eyes widened in shock.

"Oh, I forgot to tell him that entering the War God Hall means being teleported in." Seeing Ji Ning's wide-eyed expression, the black ox's own bovine eyes widened, then he chuckled.

...

In the blink of an eye,

Ji Ning arrived on an endless, vast expanse of land. The soil seemed stained red with blood. Ahead stood a towering pagoda, its door shimmering with faint white light.

"Huh?" Ji Ning immediately saw the yellow bear standing not far away.

"Senior." Ji Ning quickly bowed respectfully.

The yellow bear nodded slightly, his usual cold expression softening a bit, his attitude more amiable. "Reaching the Dao Domain at the age of five is rare even among divine demons. Tell me, which floor of the War God Hall do you wish to challenge?"

"I can choose?" Ji Ning was stunned.

"Of course you can choose! For instance, when the master of this water mansion roamed outside, he had already reached the Primordial Daoist stage. And he only had two chances to challenge, so naturally he wouldn't choose the first floor," the yellow bear said. "You could directly choose the highest floor, the tenth. But even though the War God Hall's trials don't intend to kill, the residual fluctuations would instantly reduce you to dust, leaving not even your soul."

Ji Ning blinked.

Well.

The tenth floor?

Even Immortal Ju Hua, after becoming a loose immortal, had only passed the seventh floor. The power of the tenth floor was unimaginable. Ji Ning could only marvel at the ancient divine demon who created this water mansion.

"I choose the first floor," Ji Ning said honestly. According to the black ox, before comprehending the Rainwater Sword Domain, his chance of passing the first floor was less than ten percent, showing how difficult it was.

"Mm." The yellow bear nodded. "You're being practical. Since it's your first challenge, this trial will be the easiest."

"The easiest?" Ji Ning was startled.

The yellow bear's furry paw grabbed Ji Ning's arm. Whoosh! In an instant, they were at the door of the towering pagoda. They stepped through the shimmering white door and entered.

This was a vast white space, a thousand zhang high and several thousand zhang wide, with only a floating door behind them.

"This is the first floor of the War God Hall," the yellow bear said. Ji Ning immediately looked around cautiously. The first floor? Where was the trial?

"Look." The yellow bear stood aside and pointed ahead.

Ji Ning followed his gaze. In the distance, a black wooden stake appeared out of nowhere. It was about as thick as Ji Ning's thigh and about one zhang tall, standing upright.

"A wooden stake?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

"The trial I'm giving you is much easier than what I gave Ju Hua or Lei Zhan," the yellow bear said. "The trial of the first floor is this: before this stick of incense burns out, cut that wooden stake in half!" The yellow bear's hand produced a stick of incense, about a foot long.

"Cut the stake before the incense burns out?" Ji Ning looked at the stake.

No wonder the mansion spirit said it was the easiest trial, easier than Ju Hua's or Lei Zhan's. Indeed, just chopping a wooden stake posed no danger. And the stake just stood there, not fighting back.

"It begins." The yellow bear spoke, and the incense stick appeared on the ground nearby, already lit.

"One stick of incense..."

Ji Ning didn't dare waste time.

With a whoosh, he dashed to the stake. Although it was just a stake, blindly attacking it would be foolish. Better to take a moment to examine it first, see where it might be easier to break. Knowing oneself and the enemy leads to victory. The stake was entirely black with ring-like patterns.

"Would it be easier to split along the grain?" Ji Ning wondered.

"Ha!"

The Northmoon Sword appeared in Ji Ning's hand. His divine power and Zifu elemental power erupted fully. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—a fine drizzle appeared around him, threads of rain swirling, cool and refreshing. The traces of the Dao around him grew significantly stronger.

"Silk Rain Like Threads!" Ji Ning struck with his strongest move.

Whoosh!

His sword light flashed and vanished, merging into the drifting, thread-like rain. His sword became one of those silken threads, sharp and fine, slicing into the stake.

"Bang!" Only a faint white mark appeared on the stake. Washed by the rain, the mark disappeared, as if nothing had happened.

Ji Ning's tiger's mouth split from the powerful recoil, and he stumbled back three steps. But the wound on his palm healed instantly.

"Just a white mark. This stake is incredibly tough. Cutting it in half within one incense stick will be very hard." Ji Ning immediately stepped forward and struck again.

Another Silk Rain Like Threads strike.

The sword merged into the rain...

Bang!

Another loud impact as it hit the stake. This time, Ji Ning struck precisely along the grain. Though knocked back again, he was delighted to see a tiny wound on the stake. It was very small, almost negligible, but a wound nonetheless.

"With my Rainwater Sword Domain, this strike can probably match the ninth layer of the Small Thousand Sword Formation. Yet it only left such a small wound." Ji Ning was shocked. "Without the Rainwater Sword Domain, I wouldn't be able to harm it at all."

Ji Ning knew that within the Rainwater Sword Domain, he was like a tiger with wings, his sword's power elevated several levels.